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Last year i was following BTD but became discouraged with lack of weight loss and fell off the wagon so to speak. After following all of these boards and reading more of Dr. D's books, I came to the conclusion that the GTD might be a better fit for me. I dove in head first with complete compliance from day 1. I lost a few pounds the first week and thought I was really on to something. But here I am today day 35 and I haven't lost another pound. I believe so much in what this diet should be doing for me, but what am I doing wrong? I have a lot of weight to lose and I'm amazed I haven't lost anything just from the difference in my portions alone from what I had been eating.

Is this common to not lose weight yet? Do I need to buy a Swami? I am greatly discouraged and frustrated and I don't want to give up yet. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,Jennifer

Posted by: Averno, Friday, April 19, 2013, 2:13pm; Reply: 1

My guess is that you're a gatherer, and those "thrifty genes" are patially to blame. If so, the Activator and Catalyst supplements should help. Give yourself time. It's not a crash diet program.

Posted by: Andrea AWsec, Friday, April 19, 2013, 2:22pm; Reply: 2

Did you do a SWAMI or a secretor test? I know it means more things to do but they might help you quite a bit

I would also call D'adamo Personalized Nutrtion as for Nancy tellher I sent you Andrea Cayea she will help I promise.

You will not have to buy anything if you don't want and she will guide you.

Posted by: ruthiegirl, Friday, April 19, 2013, 2:46pm; Reply: 3

Which genotype are you? How much exercise have you been doing? What's your typical daily meal plan like? Also, about how much weight do you need to lose?

The more details you provide, the better we can help you.

Posted by: Mrs T O+, Friday, April 19, 2013, 3:31pm; Reply: 4

Remember that the first goal should be building health & some weight loss will follow. So don't despair.

Stick around & you will get help from this forum!

Posted by: KimonoKat, Friday, April 19, 2013, 3:38pm; Reply: 5

If you have a lot of weight to lose, then expect it to take time to reverse the process. This is a lifestyle change. Every one is different, unique. Your weight loss may take some time to get kick started. You could have some underlying issue that you're not aware of, that is keeping the pounds from dropping.

Like ruthiegirl said, the more info you provide, the better we can help you.

Sharing with the best of intentions.

Posted by: Victoria, Friday, April 19, 2013, 3:58pm; Reply: 6

Hi Jennifer, I'm sorry that you're having difficulties. I feel sure that it's not permanent and when you get some fine-tuning done, you will be seeing good results from your efforts.

The first thing is to make sure that you are really a blood type O. People have been sometimes surprised to find out that they are a different blood type than they thought.

Get your Secretor Test done. This is a finger-prick test that will also allow you to be positive about your blood type (in case you aren't already). It's hard to be sure about your Genotype if you don't know your secretor type.

Once you're sure about those things and have rechecked all your measurements, or taken the plunge and got the SWAMI, work on making adjustments to the way you eat.Complete Compliance means different things to different people and it also calls for different levels of adherence depending on what a person's situation is.

Here's what Dr. D says about compliance:What is compliance?• If you are recovering from an illness or desire weight loss, then 80%-100% of your food choices should be highly beneficial.• If you are a healthy individual over the age of 55, 80% of foods should be beneficial.• If you are under 55 and healthy, 70% or more of your food choices should beneficial.• The remainder of your food choices should be neutral. Avoids should not be eaten.

So, compliance is not just avoiding the Avoids. If you really need to lose weight or if you're dealing with other chronic conditions or advancing age, for example, moving up the scale toward Beneficials/Superfoods/Diamonds is what holds the power in this program.

Then, you can fine-tune your portions and frequencies as recommended by your meal plan. And make sure you are eating enough fresh vegetables in a wide array of colors (not just a tossed salad) ;). Make sure you are eating enough healthy fat, or your body will hold on to fat. Make sure you are getting enough protein, or your body will demand that you overeat on carbs. Even Beneficial carbs eaten to excess will pack on weight.

Take it a step at a time and try to relax. :)

Posted by: Mother, Friday, April 19, 2013, 7:04pm; Reply: 7

Many O's have found they do much better with weight loss eliminating grains, starches, all forms of sweeteners and minimizing fruits.Moderate amounts of Lean proteins,lots of non starchy veggies and some healthy fats are what works for me. Lots of salads topped with protein and healthy oils.Add some additional veggies at dinner. Sweet and simple.

Wow, thank you everyone for all of your help! I don't know my Secretor status but from ordering the geno type kit I am a Gatherer. That is the plan I have been following. I have only eaten, beef, lamb, turkey and fish. I eliminated all artificial sweeteners except Stevia (found a brand that is pure, no avoids, eliminated coffee and only drink Yerba Mate or green tea. Only grain I have had is flax meal and millet. No dairy, rice milk only. Only beneficial or neutral fruits and veggies. I have had a bit of a hard time eating protein as often, but I am getting much better at it.

I won't bore everyone with my total meals but i really think I do well with the amount of diamond foods I am eating. I have had absolutely no avoids, although on the rare occasion I have eaten out I'm sure something could be in there. I need to lose about 85 pounds and I'm 55. My Mom has Lupus and my Dad has had cancer, so I really would like to do whatever I can to avoid developing any of these diseases if possible. And I know my weight puts me at a major risk.

I would love to get a Swami and hopefully I can accomplish that next month. I seem to feel that from everything I have read here, it would be just as important to also get the Secretor test done. I have not ordered the supplements yet but that looks like a great idea. I also have not been exercising very much at all and I know O's need that.

Thanks to all of your replies I feel strong enough to keep working at this, I'm thinking maybe Im wrong about being a Gatherer but I tested very strongly for it. Maybe I'm a non-secretor? Would that make much of a difference in food choices? I'm going to go reread everyones advice and keep going! Thank You All

Posted by: KimonoKat, Friday, April 19, 2013, 9:10pm; Reply: 10

Quote:I won't bore everyone with my total meals End Quote

You'd be surprised, but this stuff doesn't bore us. ;D Information is power. The more information we have about what you are eating and what your lifestyle is like, the better we can help you. <3

Posted by: ABJoe, Saturday, April 20, 2013, 12:09am; Reply: 11

From reading your information, the only things that "jump" out at me is that you may need to increase the % of beneficial foods and add some exercise. It doesn't have to be real strenuous exercise, either. Peppermint Twist is a Gatherer and she added at least a half hour, but most of the time an hour per day of walking along with her Gatherer diet and she lost 90+ lbs. You can search for her older posts to read all about it for motivation...

Wow, thank you everyone for all of your help! I don't know my Secretor status but from ordering the geno type kit I am a Gatherer. That is the plan I have been following. I have only eaten, beef, lamb, turkey and fish. I eliminated all artificial sweeteners except Stevia (found a brand that is pure, no avoids, eliminated coffee and only drink Yerba Mate or green tea. Only grain I have had is flax meal and millet. No dairy, rice milk only. Only beneficial or neutral fruits and veggies. I have had a bit of a hard time eating protein as often, but I am getting much better at it.

I won't bore everyone with my total meals but i really think I do well with the amount of diamond foods I am eating. I have had absolutely no avoids, although on the rare occasion I have eaten out I'm sure something could be in there. I need to lose about 85 pounds and I'm 55. My Mom has Lupus and my Dad has had cancer, so I really would like to do whatever I can to avoid developing any of these diseases if possible. And I know my weight puts me at a major risk.

I would love to get a Swami and hopefully I can accomplish that next month. I seem to feel that from everything I have read here, it would be just as important to also get the Secretor test done. I have not ordered the supplements yet but that looks like a great idea. I also have not been exercising very much at all and I know O's need that.

Until you get Swami, try eliminating millet. You could use amaranth or quinoa instead and they are both diamonds for a gatherer. Basmati rice would be good also, it's beneficial for you (but not a diamond). The reason to drop millet is it is considered to be goitrogenic or thyroid inhibiting which can be very problematic when trying to lose weight. Goitrogens in foods can have a wide range of symptoms in individuals. From personal experince, I can tell you that millet makes me feel like I've been drugged. I will suffer severe fatigue and mental fogginess. Even if you don't experience those symptoms, it might be affecting you enough to prevent you from losing weight.

You've done such a great job in cleaning up your diet. Keep up the good work and try gradually increasing exercise and I'll think you will reach your goal.

Posted by: karen, Sunday, April 21, 2013, 9:42pm; Reply: 13

One more suggestion would be to add iodine from seaweeds or fish and other iodine containing foods to help support the thyroid.

And one more I thought of is to make sure you are getting enough selenium because it is needed to convert T4 to T3 thyroid hormone. Good food sources would be eggs, onions and garlic. The iodine containing seaweeds and fish also supply selenium.

Posted by: ruthiegirl, Sunday, April 21, 2013, 9:50pm; Reply: 14

You probably need to exercise and pay closer attention to portion sizes. It's very easy for me to over-do the portions, and then I don't lose weight. That's one of the great things about SWAMI; it will give you an exact portion recommendation for each food, rather than a range. Instead of looking at the book and selecting the largest portions, you'll know that what SWAMI says really is personalized just for you.

For Gatherers, exercise is a key component of weight loss. I can't lose weight without exercising several times a week. There are days I'm too sick to exercise. If I get too many of those in a row, weight loss stops, and I may even regain a few pounds. Even 10 minutes a day (when possible) keeps the scale from moving upwards, although I need more than that to actually lose weight.

Posted by: PCUK-Positive, Sunday, April 21, 2013, 11:24pm; Reply: 15

If it's not obvious why you are not losing weight then you need to be more detailed with your answers on here.

the obvious might be.

portion size, no exercise, fruit juice and or sweet fruits. perhaps if you detail the sizes and amount of your drinks. and perhaps skip the stevia by the way. don't think that's a good idea, it's neutral at best and an avoid if you are a non secretor. in which case apples will be one to avoid.

if you would like to list a few days worth of exactly everything you eat drink and breath ;) the guy on her will be able to point out any suspect things.

swami has some really good things on it like adjusting portion size and meal frequency. if you can afford it get it. it's the best.

now am i right in thinking you have to lose about 5 stone. if that is the case i would personally start with a bit of walking as far as exercise is concerned (hope i got that calculation right. also cut out any snacks between meals if you can and do some breathing exercises. get fresh air and avoid any mouldy rooms, they will kill you spirit.

do you have any underlying illness and are you taking any drugs of any kind.

how do you cook your food, avoid frying. and any pickles, ketchup or other dips! no take away food, no bread not even gluten free i would say :) are you eating any corn?

how much rice milk do you drink, i would go easy on that too.

also are you sure you are blood type O?

hope that's not to much to take in, feel free to aks anything even Pm me if you like re anything. there are many people that have lost that amount of weight so try and relax but keep an honest food diary and make it as accurate as you can. even if it means weighing things.